Korean Job Discussion Forums

[WendyRose]

Hello!

I'm going to Japan in July for 1 week with my significant other. We plan to go from Tokyo to Osaka/Kyoto and then from there to Hiroshima. Then back to Tokyo.

We won't need the 7 day rail pass since we'll only be traveling outside of Tokyo for the last few days of our trip. It's really expensive (about $270 each person) to get the rail pass, so I'm hoping to find a better alternative.

I'm open to any and all ideas.

Wendy

[lsrupert]

I'm heading to Japan next week, and the friends with whom I traveling opted for the JR Pass. We did look into cheaper alternatives, and if you're willing to spend more time traveling, you can take a bus. Here's a website that may help. http://www.123bus.net/ The prices look great, and if you do an overnight bus, it can cut out the cost of a hotel room.

[JJJ]

Actually it's a pretty good deal. You can use it from Narita when you land (approx. 30 bucks to Tokyo and another 30 back). And you really don't want to waste time on a slow train. A shinkansen ticket to Kyoto would be (best guess right now) at least $100 one way, close to another $100 from Kyoto to Hiroshima and then all the way back to Tokyo. You will easily spend more than $270 getting your own tickets. Think about it. You are lucky because you are there for exactly one week and therefore will be able to use the ticket all they way from Narita to Hiroshima and back again.

The only cheaper alternative is to fly into Osaka.

[Otherside]

Alternatives to JRail pass.
1. Pay for tickets individually.
2. Fly.
3. Walk

[neil537]

I agree with JJJ, the rail pass is still your best deal. Even if you're spending some of your time in Tokyo and not travelling elsewhere you can still use your JR rail Pass on some of the lines (eg JR Loop line that goes to Shibuya, Mejiji, Shinjuku etc).

Its so easy to use as well, you don't have to fiddle about buying individual tickets, you just walk up to the gate, flash your pass and you're through. To me that was worth a bit of money in itself. You can still use the Shikhansen, just not the Nozomi trains, but the Hikari is almost as fast.

[farrepatt]

I agree with the others. I lived in Japan for a year and have been back a few times since and I'd be surprised if you could do your itinerary for cheaper without a JR pass.

It's about $30 each way to and from Narita.
If I remember correctly, it's about $100 each way to Kyoto/Osaka from Tokyo by Shinkansen.
I've done the trip to Hiroshima from Kyoto, but only with the JR pass. I'd guess it'd be another $50-70 each way.

When you add it up, you'll spend less on the JR pass. It sounds expensive, but it's a fantastic way to travel. I've bought a week pass a couple of times and a three week pass once. I've loved every moment of it.

[b-class rambler]

If you go to Hiroshima, you'll probably visit Miyajima Island just off the coast. You can also use your JR rail pass to go there, as JR runs one of the ferries.

I'd definitely agree with the others above that if you're doing all the travelling you mentioned by train, plus a few days of going around Tokyo then the JR pass will definitely pay for itself.

Just your return trip to/from Narita Airport plus your Shinkansen travel to Kyoto/Osaka & Hiroshima would cost you around 40,000 yen. When you add on all the local train journeys you make (and believe me, this is one thing that really eats a hole in your pocket that you don't realise) then you'd probably be saving $150 - $200 by getting the pass. And obviously a lot of hassle booking tickets too.

If however, you really need to do all your travelling for less than the price of the rail pass, buses would be your best option, but they are slow so overnight trips would be best.

[WendyRose]

I think I'll go with the rail pass.

Thanks for your insight, everyone.

Now - do you have any suggestions for hostels in Tokyo, Osaka/Kyoto and Hiroshima?

[eslteacherlooking]

What if you are flying seoul osaka tokyo but plan on day trips in osaka and a few day trips from tokyo?

is it still worth it to buy the jr pass?

I'm thinking the suica card in tokyo can get me around on the cheap and I can us it for daytrips right?

or don't kanto and kansai both have regional passes that could cover my daytrips and still be cheaper than the jr pass? I hope! Fingers crossed.

[Murakano]

I used to live in Japan, Tokyo specifically. The JR pass will pay for itself if you plan to use shinkaksen to the mentioned places. As you are probably very aware the shinkasen is super expensive......you could save yourself a tiny bit of money if you take the overnight buses from Tokyo>Osaka......

and for travel within Tokyo....you can get a day pass for 710 yen (tokunai pass)....but only for use on JR lines. Most touristy places are within the Tokunai zone/Yamanote line anyway.

Abosolutely GET the JR pass expecially as you are returning back to Tokyo.[/u]

[eslteacherlooking]

ah so the day pass could get me out of tokyo for daytrips to say like hakone?

[Murakano]

[magnolialove]

[shostahoosier]

Actually you can save money by buying a regional rail pass.

For instance, if you will be in the central part of Japan, you can buy a JR-West rail pass and they have two options: The Sanyo region is 20000Y and the Kansai Region is 6000Y. They're 4 day passes but you get my point.

The full rail pass is expensive but you should carefully plan your itinerary first to see if it's NOT worth it.

The bottom of this page has the JR Group members
http://www.japanrailpass.net/
You can research them about their individual passes.

And I found this site helpful for planning with trains though there may be better ones out there:
http://www.hyperdia.com/

Does anyone know if JR-Central (Nagoya area?) sells a rail pass? I cant find any concrete evidence that they do besides the "Shinkansen Tour" package.

[ThingsComeAround]

This place in Osaka:

http://www.osaka-yha.com/shin-osaka/

beautiful view, real close to Osaka station, Cheap!